The Choices She Makes
by Rainpath of Thunderclan
Summary: After leaving her old life behind, MC, meets Unknown who leads her to Rika's old apartment. It's here, in this clean, abandoned, apartment where she's faced with the choice to choose. By doing so, she unlocks hidden secrets, one's that may cause more harm than good. All the while, her past comes crawling back, not letting her forget. Canon-divergence. Slight-AU.


_I can't stop!_ She screamed to herself, running as fast as her legs could carry her. _I can't go back… I just can't!_ Her long brunette hair followed her and continuously whipped her face with every stride. Her bangs, an overgrown mess she'd been meaning to cut for a while, limited her vision and almost caused her to run into a tree… twice. Her cheeks were flushed and breathing jagged as she kept going, despite the way her body pleaded for her to stop. All she had with her was a much-too-long tan sweater that hung loosely on her shoulders, black leggings that cut off at the ankle, a pair of black and white striped tennis shoes, as well as a sleek, black, touch screen phone and her light purple computer bag, which she brought along with her everywhere, containing her laptop. It wasn't much, but she hadn't exactly had enough time to pack all her belongings. Heck, she barely had time to change into the clothes she was wearing, let alone pack any of her other things such as her favorite shirts, dresses, shoes or any other personal item.

Suddenly, she heard a car engine start up not far off from where she currently resided. _Crap!_ She thought, not daring to look in the direction of the familiar roar of an old mustang, _he already found me?!_ Dread filled her body. _This can't be happening! It just can't!_ She bit her rose petal pink lip, pushing herself forward as adrenaline began pulsing through her veins, _If he doesn't find me, I swear I'll pray every night to whatever spirit or being is up there!_ She ran blindly, no clear destination in mind, not really caring where she ended up just as long as he doesn't find her. She turned left, the loud roaring of a car and the whooshing of wind being the only thing she hears over the ringing in her ears. Every left she took, two rights would follow afterwards. She didn't allow herself a break, regardless of the cramping in her legs since the adrenaline had run out not too long ago.

It was just past sunset when she found herself in an abandoned alleyway. Gasping for some well needed air, she fell to her knees. _Did I lose him?_ She glanced out towards the quiet streets, making no signs of any other movement. When her brown eyes caught no signs of any suspicious movement, she allowed herself to sigh in relief. _Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!_ she mentally cheered, a light pouring into her honey colored eyes, _thank you, God, Buddha, uh… whomever else may be up there…?_ She sweatdropped. She never had been the religious type, but she must have had a guardian angel or was it just a golden streak of luck? She wasn't entirely sure, but either way, for now, she was free to do as she pleased. Or in better words, do what she can to make a living. An unexpected beep from her computer bag made her thoughts scatter and panic set in. What if he knew where she was and allowed her a small slot of freedom before sending a threatening text. Her breathing was uneven as she reached a shaky hand into the left-front pocket of her computer bag. Her heartbeat quickens alarmingly as she pulled her phone from its hiding place, this was it. This was where she, MC, was about to find out what fate had in store. With her hands still shaking, MC turned on her phone and opened the messaging app, her fingers mentally crossed. _Please don't let it be him… Please, oh please…_ She begged. Forcing herself to look at the number on the top of the screen, she let out a sigh of relief. _Thank god…_

To her great surprise, the text was sent by a number she couldn't recognize. Finally, as the sense of dread washed away from her, she looked down at the message. _'Hello.'_

 _Simple enough. I guess I could respond back,_ she thought, a small smile on her lips. ' _Hey.'_ As soon as she hit send, she facepalmed herself. _Was that too weird? Should I have said 'hello' back? Gah! It's been too long since I have talked to anyone, but_ him... She shuddered at the thought, _hopefully that won't stay true…_

Only a couple seconds later, she received a reply, ' _Ah… I want to help you to find true paradise.'_

MC blinked, confusion etched on her face, _paradise…? Well, it does sound good…_ Sighing softly to herself, she typed, ' _Um… sure? How exactly would you even do that?'_

' _Simple,'_ the next message read, _'just follow my instructions.'_

' _...okay…'_

' _Good. Now step out of the alley and into the St. Nyan Coffee shop two blocks from your left.'_

MC stood up, legs crying out in pain as she grabbed her bag, slinging it on her right shoulder. "This really sucks," she groaned softly, dusting off her leggings, "but it's better than fearing for my life." Just as she was about to step forward, she stopped. "Wait…" She looked back down at her phone, eyebrows knitted closely together in thought. Quickly, she texted, ' _Wait… how do you know where I am?'_

' _Again, it's very simple, but first, please hurry to the coffee shop I mentioned. I'll explain there, alright? It'll be in person, so maybe you'll trust me better?'_

' _I guess that makes sense… I'll see you in a bit.'_

' _I'm glad you trust me. See you then.'_ After getting the response back, MC carefully placed her phone back in her bag. "I'm really doing this…" she sighed, "I can't believe I'm actually doing this…" Slowly, she stepped forward, each step a struggle of its own. _I hope I don't make them wait too long… I'd hate for them to be angry at me…_ She visibly winced at her thoughts, _I shouldn't be thinking like this, but… I can't help it._ To move quicker, she lengthened her stride. Once out of the safety the alleyway presented, MC grabs her arms, pulling them closer to her chest as chill runs down her spine. _I honestly can't believe what I'm even doing._ She continued struggling forward, taking a left as the text had said.

Ten minutes later, MC found herself standing right outside of the St. Nyan coffee, _Wow… so they were telling the truth…_ She took a deep breath, then reached back into her bag. "Here I go…" After turning it on, she reopened her messages and texted, 'I'm here…'.

'Ah… that makes me so happy.' they responded, then they added, 'I'm sitting in the back next to the window.'

 _Well, at least they told me where to find them…_ She turned off her phone, then put it away. Afterwards, her hand went to her anxiously beating heart. "Here, I go, changing my fate." Taking a deep breath, MC walked through the entrance, honey brown eyes scanning through the relatively busy shop. Her gaze stopped on a good looking man sitting by himself next to a window with a view of a large oak tree. His hair was messy, hanging a little below his ears, and white with pink streaks throughout. He was staring at his phone as she walked towards him. _He must be the guy who texted me! Strange fashion sense though…_ she noted, eyeing the way his black leather jacket sleeve hung loosely on his left shoulder over a red sleeveless shirt and the dark choker he wore around his neck. As she got closer, her eyes were drawn to the tattoo found on the same arm. It was a strangely drawn eye, yet despite how weird it was, she couldn't tear her eyes away.

"It's rather rude to stare you know," the male said, looking up at her with the prettiest set of pale blue eyes she ever saw.

Suddenly, she found herself beginning to feel self-conscious. Awkwardly, she rubbed her arm, "Oh... um… I'm sorry…" Giving him a small smile, she asked, "You're the guy who sent those texts right?"

He nodded, gesturing her to sit. While she placed her bag down, he said, "I'm really glad you could make it."

"Oh, it's no problem," she said awkwardly, "Say… who are you anyway?"

"Name's aren't too important, but for now, call me Unknown."

"Unknown?" she tilted her to the side, resembling a confused puppy, "but that isn't even a name…."

"You'll find out my real name soon enough," he smiled, a layer of something dark lying underneath, sending a chill down her spine. _What am I getting myself into?_

"Oh...Okay then…" she laughed awkwardly, watching her fingers intently after they had suddenly become interesting to her. "My name is… MC…"

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, MC," he said, his eyes never moving away from her, "I bet you're wondering why I asked you to meet me here, no?"

She bit her lip, still staring at her fingers, _why is he talking like he's been waiting for this moment for some time…?_ "O-of course."

"No reason to be shy~" he cooed, "I don't plan to hurt you." He then tapped the table to gain her attention. Once she glanced his way, he continued, "You are very special, MC. Very special, indeed. That's why I need to ask you for a favor."

"A favor…?"

"That's right," he nodded again, sliding a phone towards her, "I want you to take this and follow me." After that, he stood up. He began to walk away, but stopped after a couple of steps. "You coming?" he asked annoyance riding in his voice, "I'm trying to be nice, but I still don't have all day."

"R-right!" she squeaked, grabbing the phone and her bag, scurrying after him, ignoring the way her legs once again began to protest. Catching up to him, she looked up at the pale man's face, "Say… uh… Unknown, where are we going exactly?"

"Somewhere, I'll need you to stay until I bring you back towards paradise."

"Oh yeah… you mentioned paradise… What's it like?"

He smiled at that, "A place I guarantee you'll love. However, I can't quite tell you yet." He looked down at her, "but I promise that as soon as I am able to, I'll bring you there."

They two continued walking down the street in silence. _This is sorta… romantic…?_ MC thought glancing up at the star inhabited sky, _Of course, I'm the only one who would think that…_ She laughed bitterly to herself, forcing her eyes to the sidewalk, _after all didn't he tell you that'd no one would ever love you?_

" _We're here," he said, voice pulling her from her thoughts. Already?_ She glanced up at the man, her eyes following the direction of the finger he lifted. "I want you to go to the third floor and then the eighth door from the elevator." As she took a step, he grabbed her arm causing her to stop and wince. "Before that," he hissed, "give me the phone from your bag."

She blinked, "Why?"

His grip on her arm tightened, "just do it."

She felt her eyes water, "O-okay…" Shakingly, she handed him her phone, still holding the one he gave her back at the coffee shop.

"Good girl." He took the phone from her, letting go of her arm. To her surprise, he threw it to the ground, then stepped on it, smashing it to pieces.

"Wha-What did you do that for?!" she shrieked with teary eyes. All the money she had went into buying that and to watch him destroy it so easily actually hurt something deep inside of her.

"Stopping anyone from tracing you. Especially that guy you're so afraid of," he spoke, staring blankly at her, almost like he thought it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Her eyes grew the size of saucers and her heart stopped, "h-how do you-"

"I know everything about you, Princess." He cooed darkly. "Now be a good girl and stop asking questions."

She took a step back, eyes welling in fear. This man couldn't be the same person from the cafe and the texts, could he? Her body was shaking. Should she have just ignored those texts?

He laughed, eyes dancing in amusement at the terrified expression present on her face. "Don't worry, Princess, I only have your best interest in mind. Now, that I have your attention, turn on the phone I gave you." Sniffling, MC pressed the power button on the side. "Good, now click the app reading R.F.A."

Doing what he told her, she swiped through the home screen until she saw the small icon reading R.F.A in gold lettering. Fearing he'd get mad if she didn't, MC clicked the icon, opening the app. To her surprise, it wanted her to sign in. "Um…"

"Go ahead and sign up." His pale blue eyes stared blankly at her as his arms crossed over his chest.

Listening to him, MC, quickly types in her email and password. After hitting enter, another screen pops up. This time asking for a username. She stood still for a moment, pondering on what to call herself, when an idea struck her. Instantly, she typed in MCkitty. Once she tapped the enter button, another pop up appeared, this time wanting her to choose a profile picture. "Hm…" she bit her lip, looking around for a moment before hitting the home button. Quickly, she searched for a picture of a Shiba Inu. Once she found one she liked, it was a puppy caught rolling in a flowery field, she saved it to the phone. Then, she reopened the R.F.A. app, choosing to pick from the gallery, while Unknown tapped his foot impatiently. She tapped the picture she saved and clicked end. "Done!" she called, smiling at the picture. It really was cute…

"Finally," he scoffed, gesturing her towards him, "now come here." Silently, she walked forward, opting to keep her mouth shut to not anger him any further. He reminded her of the man that ruined her life whenever his eyes gained that look. The look so embroidered into her soul, she'd never be able to forget it. When she got close enough, Unknown uncrossed his arms. "I'm only telling you this once, so listen up." Biting her lip, MC nodded, forcing herself to keep her eyes on him instead of her feet, which proved much more difficult than she initially thought. He looked satisfied with her reaction as he leaned next to her ear, whispering softly, "On the door should be a number lock." She shuddered as his breath brushed past her ear as he continued, "I want you to enter this code and stay there for awhile, alright?" He leaned back, pushing a hand into his right jacket pocket and pulling out a small piece of paper. After checking its contents over, he offered her the slip, "Take this."

"R-right," she stuttered, face flushed as she reached for the note. Just as she touched the paper, her hand brushed against his cold one causing her already pink face to turned a blazing scarlet.

"Hm… interesting," he muttered under his breath before re-crossing his arms," now I do still have a couple rules for you."

 _How many things must I follow from this guy?_ she mused, holding back a sigh. "Alright… like what?"

"One, do not touch any drawer inside that apartment. Leave everything as it is. There is no need to draw extra attention to yourself than you already will." She was about to interrupt, when he lifted a hand, effectively quieting her. "Two, if any of the others ask, I'll let you use my name, but that's it. I led you there, but they can't know what I'm like. So I want you to lie about our meeting."

"Others?"

"That app," he stated, "is chatroom-based. Starting in the morning, you'll meet them on there, so be prepared to make that lie I mentioned. You have the rest of the night to make it up." He blew a strand of his hair out of his eyes, "Now listen closely on this one. You _can_ _not_ fall in love; however it will be pretty compelling to see them falling head over heels for you. I'd have so much fun watching you break their poor little hearts," he smirked evilly, saying in a voice barely over a whisper, "Especially that good-for-nothing Saeyoung..." A couple of seconds later, the smirk slid off his face as he glared intensely at the young woman, pale eyes boring holes into her head, "I'll repeat this, you are not allowed to fall in love."

MC gulped, sweat dripping down her neck. "I-I won't," she promised, honey eyes wide, "p-promise!"

His smirk returned, "Good girl, Princess." Unknown allowed his eyes to soften as he continued, "Now go on and get cozy in your temporary home. I'll come and get you soon, just make sure you follow my rules until then. I'd hate to, but I'd have no choice, but to punish you if you fail to follow through, Princess."

She shivered, mind running through all the possible implications of how he'd 'punish' her. Nodding, she said, "I won't let you down. I have to do this for that paradise place, right?"

This time, he nodded, a smile, however small, etched upon his lips. "Exactly." He then turned around and began walking back the direction from which they had arrived, voice fading in the distance as he calls back, "I'll talk to you in the morning!"

 _Oh man… this is real isn't it…?_ She pinched herself, yelping in pain. _Okay… so it's real… I agreed to do this man's bidding. For what? A place I have no idea what it's supposed to do or even be?_ MC slapped her forehead, _I'm an idiot!_ She then sighed, deciding to just do what he said and head up to the apartment. _I can't wait to sleep in a bed… and get this over with._ The brunette woman began walking in the direction of the apartment building, legs feeling like they would fall off at any second. _Leave it to me to forget about the pain, while talking to a cute guy…_ She halted in her step, _Cute? Sure, the guy was good looking, not gonna lie there, but his personality wasn't anything to die for…_ Sighing and shaking her head, she continued on her walk up to the large elevator door. Before hitting the button that would take her up, MC moved the paper into the hand holding her new phone. She stepped inside, hitting the button with a medium sized three above it. _Here I go…_ she sighed again, still in disbelief of her actions. She has never had a day full of so many surprises. She was both mentally and physically exhausted, let alone too hungry to function properly. She yelped in surprise, too caught in her own worries and doubts, when the elevator beeped, signaling she arrived on her floor. She took a deep breath as the metal door slid open, allowing her to leave its confined place. "So the eighth…" she said, vocalizing her thoughts as she stepped through the door. As soon as she was out in the open, she raised her finger and began to count the doors. Finally, she located the eighth one. She began a steady pace towards the door to her new life. Once she stood in front of the door, she allowed herself to study the features of the lock Unknown mentioned. "R.F.A. - Rika's Fundraising Association," she read aloud, pulling the paper into her free hand, "So that's what those letters stood for…" Quickly, she entered the code given to her and stuck her hand on the door handle. Slowly, she pulled it down and pushed forward, opening the door smoothly without so much as a single squeak from its hinges.

When the door opened, MC was greeted with a rather nice-looking apartment. It had a large desk pressed against the left wall not far from the entrance. On top of the desk was a flat screen desktop. The desk itself had a pull-out tabletop with a black keyboard and a red mouse that had black side grips on it. Directly across from the desk was a wooden dresser. The top drawer was left slightly ajar, binders littering the space inside. Curious, MC's hand went towards a black one hanging on the corner, only stopping the moment before her fingers would brush against the smooth surface, mind wandering back to the man's warning of touching things. _I'm just a guest,_ she reminded herself, _my stay is temporary._ She retracted her hand, dropping her bag next to her feet in the process. _I should just sleep…_ she sighed, turning back towards the door to lock it. She left her bag on the ground, barely being able to squeeze through the narrow opening between the orange leather desk chair and the dresser. _Whomever designed this place is either the skinniest person in the world or an extreme idiot when it comes to designing a place suitable for comfortable living._ She groaned loudly as she made her way to the queen-sized bed in the opposite corner of the room and fell into the soft white sheets. "Mm…" she moaned happily, enjoying the way the bed felt like fluffy white cotton against her aching body, "Now this is heaven." She closed her eyes, not bothering to change or cover up, and breathed in softly. The bed smelled faintly of lilacs; a scent so comforting, MC fell fast asleep, just mere moments after the closing of her eyes.


End file.
